Marine Pollution - Its Prevention And Mitigation

The sea is indispensable to life on earth and experiencing serious environmental problems today. Originally nature had the power to clean itself of pollutants to a certain degree. However, the amount of the pollutants discharged by human beings has reached a level which nature cannot cope with. The causes of marine pollution are variety, such as disposal of waste and oil spills, which have caused great and possibly irreversible damage to marine life and could cause extermination of marine life. To prevent the marine environment from further damage, some conventions on the Law of the Sea have been established and implemented effectively. In this paper, the causes and the effects of marine pollution will be firstly identified and discussed. Following this, the law of the sea reviews the overall problems. How to protect marine environment will be finally recommended. Causes of marine pollution Vessel source pollution Vessel source pollution refers to pollution that comes from ships and has been estimated to comprise up to 40 percent of marine pollution (Kindt, 1986).

What is pollution

Pollution occurs when concentrations of various chemical or biological constituents exceed a level at which a negative impact on ecosystem or human health can occur. Pollution results primarily from human activities. More specifically, in the marine context "Pollution of marine environment means the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment, including estuaries, which results or is likely to result in such a deleterious effect as to harm living resources and marine life, hazardous to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including fishing and other legitimate uses of the sea, impairment of quality for use of seawater and reduction of amenities". The sources of pollution include sewage, urban run-off, industrial wastes, coastal development, and shipping activities. The chemical or biological constituents creating pollution are known as contaminants. More specifically, they can be divided into inorganic contaminants, such as metals; organic contaminants such as pesticides, PCB or petroleum hydrocarbons; Biological contaminants such as coliform bacteria and other pathogens.

The list of potential contaminants is quite exhaustive; our understanding of the potential impacts of trace metals, bacteria, or hydrocarbons is well established. However, the long-term effects of man made organic compounds such as pesticides, PCB and other plastics, etc are not yet fully understood.

Pollution is not a recent phenomenon. It occurred since the man concentrated around a port area.

Effects of Marine Pollution

The major effects of marine pollution are :

Disturbance in the balance of the ecosystem

Loss of flora and fauna

Migration of fisheries

Bio-magnification of undesirable material

Aesthetic Degradation

Accelerated Corrosion

Sources of Marine Pollution

The oceans have long been considered to have limitless capacity to receive and absorb all types of wastes. Since the 1950's many scientists began to warn that this limitless capacity is running out and the very survival of the marine environment was in danger. Therefore, it is imperative the control the sources of pollution.

The origin of various sources of pollution are listed below :

Source

Percentage

Land

45

Air

33

Transportation

12

Dumping

9

Offshore

1

As observed from the above table marine transportation ...